Creative imitation means gaining knowledge from someone else’s labor and employing it as a take-off point for positioning your own twist (sometimes better) on it. That is exactly what has happened to Danish designer Michael Ubbesen Jakobsen’s BauBike (2009). An unidentified Australian designer has reworked the details and created a new bike being termed in current media circles as the mystery bike. The clone draws full inspiration in looks and design to the BauBike, but is actually unalike in many ways than one.
Originally the BauBike was inspired by Bauhaus design which means construction based on the geometric shape of the square and the equilateral triangle. The design follows a set of formal rules. It limits to straight lines in a pattern of 60 and 90 degree angles and follows a fixed form rather than the normal function oriented design. By far such changes often surpass the border of habitual set-up to incorporate more of an artistic camaraderie to creative illustration and open ended customization. So the mystery designer in question found it fit to add on a few alterations here and there and change it into a bike suited to his regular use. The mystery bike was first spotted in Saint Cloud, an Australian fixed-gear shop.
While Michael’s design was slightly cozier and noted for its tailored read end fork, the mystery bike is more of a practical take on his BauBike. Hence, instead of its original shorter effective top-tube length, the Australian designer opted for a steeper head-tube angle and tighter rear wheel clearance with a larger and squared seat -tube. Then again keeping the saddles similar to its predecessor, the mystery bike has mounted its seat-post clamp differently and added leather straps to the saddle for a more vintage look. Furthermore, the handle bars are very different in the sense that while the BauBike lends itself to a more upright riding position, the mystery bike urges users to incline forward. Other than a few trivial details, the bike profile simply seems too similar to be just a coincidental copy of the BauBike. Well, when Michael was informed about the events, he could only accept it as a compliment as we all know that imitation is acknowledged to be the sincerest form of flattery.
Via: Core77
